Forum Discussion
Audio or Microphone Stops Working After an Update
After a recent Windows 10 update, my audio output and microphone have completely stopped working across all applications, with the sound icon showing a red X and the system reporting that no audio device is installed even though my hardware is properly connected and was working fine before the update. I've already tried rolling back the audio driver, running the audio troubleshooter, and checking device manager for conflicts, but nothing has restored sound or microphone functionality, and I'm hoping someone can point me toward a permanent fix without having to uninstall the update entirely.
2 Replies
Restart your PC. Windows may automatically install a basic driver, but this is usually not enough.
Hi, since both output and microphone disappeared at the same time, I would look one layer below the normal app settings.
Check that `Windows Audio` and `Windows Audio Endpoint Builder` are both running. Then in Device Manager, enable "Show hidden devices", remove the audio device, microphone device, and any failed audio entries, and reboot. After that, install the audio and chipset drivers from the PC or motherboard manufacturer, not only from Windows Update.
Also check Settings > Privacy > Microphone to make sure microphone access did not get disabled globally. If Device Manager still shows no usable audio endpoint after the OEM driver reinstall, check Event Viewer around the update time for driver load failures. I would only uninstall the Windows update after confirming it is not a driver package or endpoint-service issue.
